How to draw FENTZ

(I’m not going to talk about Florence, “the storm of a lifetime”, I’m too busy praying. This thing is incredibly scary.)

From organic to dramatic … from B-Leaf to Fentz.

Fentz is an easy and unusual tangle from Sydney, Australia CZT Lianne Woods and predictably enough is based on a fence Lianne spotted in her neighborhood. Fentz is Lianne’s fourth tangle on the site.

As she notes, inspiration for tangles can be found everywhere,

“Tangles, tangles everywhere! Places I often find inspiration for tangles is on fences as I travel around for work.” On her blog Lianne shares a photo of the inspiration for her tangle.

Fentz offers many options for fills and shading and it’s an interesting tangle where flipping/rotating and mirroring the fragment creates quite different results.

It helped me to keep in mind that the strokes all end up either at the grid corners or at the ends or half-way points of prior strokes. You’ll see what I mean when you give it whirl. For my example I restated some of the strokes to make them bolder so they balanced with the rest of the finished tangle after I’d added all those tiny strokes to fill the shapes.

Lianne illustrates the step-by-step instructions for drawing Fentz here on her blog (click the image for the larger downloadable version) where she features it in three Zentangle® tiles with several Zentangle-original tangles.

Notice how in Lianne’s Renaissance tile (the third one) she has used a single fragment of Fentz as a string for her Zentangle. Many grid-based tangles can function as a convenient string in this way so when you’re stuck for a String (although with 250 free strings here in our resource, how could you possibly be?!), give a grid-based tangle a whirl.

As you enjoy any of the tangles on the site, please leave a comment of thanks and encouragement to show the artists you appreciate them for sharing their creativity to inspire yours. Your thanks helps motivate them to continue to share!

Check out the tag liannew for more of Lianne’s tangles on TanglePatterns.com.

.oOo.

A word about rulers

Many great tangles begin with an underlying inked grid (reticula) and they are always drawn freehand.

"Just as we point out that there's no eraser in a Zentangle Kit, there's also no ruler. ... With a relaxed focus and leaving rulers and preconceived notions aside, expect to be surprised and delighted." ~ Zentangle blog.

I've noticed quite a few "Zentangles" — and even tangle instructions — around the net where a some type of straight edge, stencil or other mechanical aid has been used to draw the underlying grid. Or even (egad!) to draw straight lines (or circles) making up the pattern within a Zentangle.

As CZT Sandy Hunter writes, "there is no zen to be had in the preoccupation with perfection."

Here's what I say ...

Zentangle is all about you and your pen

So put away the rulers and experience the Zen.

and you may quote me. 🙂

.oOo.
Enhance your Zentangle experience while supporting TanglePatterns:
CURRENT EDITION! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2024 Edition
	The 13th Edition of the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE is an instant-download 109-page interactive digital eBook/PDF containing approximately 2,000 tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2023. It's a great resource and a must-have digital tool for using the site. Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page and help keep TanglePatterns.com going by getting your copy now!
	"Linda, Thank you! I was relying on too few and getting stuck after 3 years of daily working with Zentangle. This has inspired me to ‘begin again’ with renewed excitement." ~ Barbara R.
See the BOOK REVIEWS page for more details on its features and view a sample page. Note: this is a digital product you download immediately when you place your order, nothing will be physically mailed to you.
GIFT ORDERS FOR ANOTHER PERSON: To give the TANGLE GUIDE as a gift, visit this page to place your gift order.
If you're new to Zentangle® and tangling, my TanglePatterns.com BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ZENTANGLE is just what you need to get started. Also available en Français and en Español.
	This is the only Zentangle book you'll ever need: the fabulous Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1. It's your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle®. Visit the STORE tab on the top menu bar or click on the image. For more about the content and to read the rave reviews, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab.
NEW! Now available in KINDLE format for $9.99. Spanish Edition here. Japanese Edition here.
"Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book. If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H
.oOo.